“Sometimes, the Lord heals in loving response to the faith and prayers of another.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today –April 21, 2023
Pray for one another that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5:16, NKJV
My friend Carl sat in my library recently and recounted his beautiful experience of healing from the Lord while he experienced prayers of faith from a group of Spirit-filled Jesus followers. Carl’s lower back pain for years had been a severe source of discomfort and often excruciating pain to the point of being unable to walk or sit, only lying flat on his back. During one of his worst seasons of suffering, he and his daughter were scheduled to serve with their church’s upcoming mission trip to Guatemala. He almost canceled, not wanting to be a burden to the group if his back pain became too agonizing to travel. Upon arrival, Carl gingerly made his way into an unexpected prayer meeting…invited to be prayed over by the local Christians.
Fervently praying in Spanish, Carl felt in his spirit something special…like these prayers were truly prayers of faith. About halfway into their prayer time, a warm wave flushed his body, culminating in a surge of heat through his back. After the last amen, he stood up with no pain…healed by God through the prayers of His people. Ten years later, still healed, pain-free. The next day Carl recounted his experience with Pedro, the local leader who had led the prayer time. Pedro was unfazed, like no big deal, “Yes, we trust God to heal, sometimes He does, and sometimes He doesn’t.” Indeed, the Lord sometimes heals, and sometimes He doesn’t.
“Then Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.’ And his servant was healed at that moment” (Matthew 8:13).
Sometimes God heals, and sometimes He doesn’t…simple but true. And sometimes, the Lord heals in loving response to the faith and prayers of another. Jesus, in amazement at the faith of a military man, shows compassion to the man’s servant by healing him from a distance. James reminds us in the opening verse above of the effective prayers of healing from righteous believers on behalf of another. Love prays for healing, while wisdom trusts God for the outcome. Humility keeps God the focus with a surrendered self in total dependence on the Great Physician. As you pray for healing and others pray for you…your loving heavenly Father knows you and cares for you. If He heals, praise Him; if healing is delayed until heaven, praise Him.
C.S. Lewis, who was personally acquainted with prayers of healing over his wife Joy as she suffered from cancer, gives a helpful explanation of healing, whether through conventional medicine or through divine intervention. “All who are cured are cured by Him, not merely in the sense that His providence provides them with medical assistance and wholesome environments, but also in the sense that their very tissues are repaired by the far-descended energy which, flowing from Him, energizes the whole system of nature. But once He did it visibly to the sick in Palestine, a Man meeting with men.” (Miracles, p. 140)
As Lewis reminds us, “All who are cured are cured by Him.” So, we pray a prayer of faith to the Lord of creation, and we humble ourselves to be prayed for by righteous believers in Jesus as we leave the results to the One who holds the keys to life and death…our Healer, Jesus Christ! If He heals, be glad and glorify Him. If He doesn’t heal now, don’t remain sad, but be glad for the day He will wipe away our tears…
“The Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces” (Isaiah 25:8).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, you know and love me more than life itself. So, I surrender my life to you whether I live or die; I ask for you to live your life of love in and through me. And, in your great love, would you heal me? I know in your great power you are able, so I trust that you are willing, through Christ’s love, and in Jesus’ name, amen.
Application
What righteous believers can you ask to pray over you for healing, and who may need your righteous prayers for healing?
Related Reading
Psalm 4:1; Matthew 8:2-3; Mark 1:31, 3:5; Luke 8:41; 3 John 1:2
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VOUS Worship: Shelter In
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